By Edward Epstein CQ Staff
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed away Thursday from talk of a second economic stimulus package a prospect she had raised just two days earlier.
Pelosi D-Calif. told reporters that she wanted to see how the first $787 billion stimulus package (PL 111-5) the $410 omnibus spending law (HR 1105) signed Wednesday efforts to shore up banks and other jobs-creating legislation play out before moving toward a new stimulus.
On Tuesday Pelosi emerged from a meeting of House Democratic leaders and said she agreed with economist Mark Zandi of Moodys Economy.com that a second stimulus might be needed to prevent the troubled economy from slipping further into recession.
But on Thursday she said its important to give the first stimulus a chance to work before moving ahead on a second one.
I really would like to focus on the first one. I know that people have made suggestions that we should be ready to do something but I really would like to see this stimulus package play out" she said.
Pelosi added that she hoped the infusion of federal money will restore the publics confidence in the economy.
As we go down that path as people make judgments I would hope that we get the results that we need from this package. But that doesnt mean that people wont talk about" a possible new stimulus she added as one of our economists suggested the other day."
But Pelosi wont be the one proposing such additional spending she added. Not from my initiation" she said.
She said Congress will be fully occupied in the next several months with major initiatives on health care energy independence global warming all of which she said could create or preserve jobs.
We have a tall order of initiatives that will inspire confidence that will create jobs. And thats where I want to keep the Congress attention" she said.
House Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio said he didnt think the first stimulus would work because the Democrats were leading the country in the wrong direction by increasing spending rather than cutting taxes. Everything that has been tried so far hasnt worked. And what Ive seen so far wont work" he said.
Boehner said the run-up in spending since President Obama took office almost two months ago will hurt not help what he called the worst economy in our lifetime."
My concern is that his mountain of debt will crush our ability to get out of this crisis" he said.
White House Warning GOP Request
At the White House meanwhile both Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. warned state officials to be sure the initial stimulus money is properly targeted and accounted for.
Were going to have to make sure that every single dollar is well spent. Weve got to go above and beyond what I think is the typical ways of doing business in order to make sure that the American people get the help that they need and that our economy gets the boost that it needs" Obama said. And so Ive said before I know Joe emphasized this to you earlier if we see money being misspent were going to put a stop to it and we will call it out and we will publicize it."
Biden told state officials that regulations specifying restrictions on how the money can be spent would be issued Friday. No swimming pools in this money" he warned.
Biden also said that states can forget about future funds from Congress if the stimulus money is misspent.
If we dont get this right folks this is the end of the opportunity to convince the Congress that anything should go to the states" he said.
Meanwhile Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell R-Ky. asked the Government Accountability Office to conduct an independent review of the stimulus spending.
I am deeply concerned by reports that oversight will stop at the state level once a governor designates the federal money to be spent at the local or municipal level" McConnell said in a letter to the acting comptroller general head of the audit agency.
He said taxpayers need to know how these entities are spending stimulus funds at the project level" and he asked GAO to track expendutres to the project level and report on a bimonthly basis."
